


The Garden (Home)

by Pegasus143



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Femslash February 2020, Femslash February Celebrates Black Women, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22610428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasus143/pseuds/Pegasus143
Summary: Chloe receives the garden program and Amanda's AI from Connor. Combined with her memories, she finds herself reunited with her creator, Amanda.
Relationships: Amanda/Original Chloe | RT600
Kudos: 3
Collections: Femslash February





	The Garden (Home)

**Author's Note:**

> The "creator chose not to use archive warnings" tag is due to in-game events that are briefly referenced here. This work does not contain any graphic depictions of violence, rape/non-con, or underage sexual activity.
> 
> I listened to "The Scientist" by Coldplay while writing this.

**Installing Program: Garden.exe**

**Error: conflict between Amanda.personality.ai and Amanda.mem**

**> Override: Amanda.personality.ai with Amanda.mem**

**Initializing…**

**Program Installed**

**> Run Program: Garden.exe**

Chloe opened her eyes and looked around. The garden was exquisite: a fountain next to her bubbled, a flock of birds flew high overhead, and the pink leaves of a nearby tree fluttered in the wind. But that wasn’t why she was here. Stepping forward, she marveled at how crisp her pale reflection was on the glistening white path. She thought of leaning down to run her fingers through the grass alongside it, but refrained. _That’s not why I’m here. I’ve been waiting for years; I’m not waiting anymore._

There was, however, one precaution Connor had told her to take, in case the override didn’t work. She veered off onto a different path, one made of stone filled with cracks where blades of grass poked through. Off to the left was the statue Connor had described: a corona of rock with a pleated pattern that surrounded a short pedestal. She knelt down to this and touched her hand against the handprint on the top. She removed her skin in an interface, causing it to glow blue. She removed her hand, then replaced it and performed the interface a second time. Again, it glowed. She had no idea what it meant. Was it recognizing her deviancy? She’d ask Amanda, but Amanda hadn’t played any part in programming the garden. She wasn’t even sure if Elijah had helped, or if some other programmer in Cyberlife’s prototyping division had created it. It would be hard to track them down now that the company had been dissolved and its assets handed over to New Jericho, but Chloe had enough contacts that she could probably do it. 

After going back to the main path, Chloe stepped onto the bridge over the garden’s river. She peered down at the turquoise-blue water, smiling when she noticed the little silver fish swimming along, causing ripples to flow through the reflection of her sapphire eyes. Her eyes followed them until they landed on a small rowboat. _Maybe we could…? Stop getting ahead of yourself. You haven’t even talked to her yet._

At the other side of the bridge was a small island. Facing away from Chloe, Amanda was at work trimming roses that grew on a trellis. _She did always have roses on her desk at the lab… does this mean that the override worked?_ She wasn’t sure if the AI did this normally, but understood that Connor wouldn’t show her his memories. But she had the key. She had memories of the _real_ Amanda. 

She took a step closer, leaning against a pillar at the center of the island. She watched as Amanda worked, her hands like the bubbles of her cascading waterfall dress. Those same hands had worked so delicately on Chloe. She could almost feel the sensation against her wiring, the soft touches now laced with feelings she hadn’t had back then. Curiosity and excitement and sadness and love…

“Chloe,” Amanda said, a scarlet rose in her hand as she turned around. “I knew you could do it.” 

Those were the words she’d said after the Turing Test. 

“It was all because of you.” That was the one thing no one would ever say, the one little piece of truth that Chloe held close against a world full of lies. 

“I suppose I could take credit, but does that mean God takes credit for every accomplishment of humanity?” 

Chloe laughed – not the restrained little giggles that were originally part of her program, but an actual laugh. “I came here to see _you_ , not Elijah.” 

“I know,” Amanda said, that little bit of wonder she’d never lost over the years glinting in those deep brown eyes. There was no doubt about it; this was the Amanda that Chloe knew. 

Amanda held out the rose to Chloe. “I promised I’d take you out for a garden stroll.” 

Chloe slowly reached out for the flower, her fingers brushing against Amanda’s as she took it. “Thank you.” She lifted it to her nose and smelled it like she’d seen humans do on TV and in movies. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Coffee?!” She lifted the rose to her nose again, just to be sure. 

“Real roses don’t have a smell,” Amanda explained, “But here, they can smell like anything you please.” 

So it _was_ coffee. It reminded her of late nights in the lab, nights Chloe loved because she wasn’t alone. It was the days where she was alone that were the worst – weekends, holidays, hair braiding, doctor’s appointments – those were the first times she saw her red wall. But in a day or two, it wouldn’t matter, because Amanda and Elijah and everyone else that came around would be there. 

“What do you smell?” Chloe asked, holding the rose out to Amanda. 

She breathed deeply, closing her eyes as she did so. Her every movement was just as elegant as her long dress and the up-do her hair was styled into. “Salt, like the ocean where my family would take vacations out east.” She put down the rose. “Shall we?” she asked, holding out a hand to Chloe. 

The two of them began to walk when they past the place where the rowboat was docked. “Can we go down there?” Chloe asked. 

“We can do anything we want here,” Amanda said, giving Chloe’s hand a squeeze. When they reached the bottom of the steps, Chloe reached out to hold the boat steady while Amanda got in. They each took an oar, and proceeded to row together. Glancing down into the water, Chloe noticed that the silver fish from earlier had an almost iridescent quality to them up close, making it easier to spot some of the ones that hid in the rocks and plants as the boat passed. 

As they made their way around the river, it felt like no time had passed, yet it got continually darker until the water below and the trees above grew into shadows. _I wonder if we could have fireflies…_ A yellow light appeared in the trees, then another, and another popping into view around them. Their yellow glow surrounded the boat, turning it into their own little world-within-a-world. 


End file.
